Mrs. Turtle, Central CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 21, Art Student/TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, English StudentEngagement Date: August 16, 2008Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Mr. Turtle's Grandparents' backyard, Arroyo Grande, CAAbout Me: I am a California girl who loves the beach and the mountains, but is quite satisfied living right in the middle where I can enjoy the best of both worlds. I am happiest when traveling to faraway places, wandering through museums, watching old movies, or baking up a storm. Mr. Turtle and I are high school sweethearts and fellow book nerds who both drive Mini Coopers and are most likely to be found browsing in antique stores. We're having so much fun planning our European garden wedding with a vintage twist and can't wait to share more of life's adventures together!
After having a wonderful time in London, we made our way to Paris! I had never been to Paris, even though I’d been dying to go for as long as I can remember. I would have been seriously crushed if it had not lived up to my expectations. Thankfully, it exceeded them! Mr. Turtle and I both fell in love with the city!
And it was truly love at first sight. (Admittedly, the fact that our hotel, The Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel, was located literally at the foot of the Eiffel Tower made it pretty easy to fall in love!)
Mrs. Octopus, Boston, MA/Pittsburgh, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Graphics Operator for TV NewsEngagement Date: May 6th, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heinz Chapel Ceremony, Museum Reception
About Me: When my best friend dragged me to a toga party in our freshmen year of college, I was not expecting to meet my future husband; but seven years later, here we are. I'm a crazy-organized planner at heart, and I am a great lover of random trivia, books, chocolate, blogs, new and exciting adventures, mockumentary-style television, and anything heavily flavored with bright orange fake cheese powder. We're planning a festive and fun mini-destination wedding in the place where we met: fabulous Pittsburgh, PA! I can't wait to marry the man I love!
While there aren’t any formal plans in place for it yet, I’m fairly sure that when our wedding reception ends at 11 PM, there will be an after-party at a nearby bar. My thinking is that Mr. O and I would definitely like to attend the after-party and keep the good times rolling with our friends and family (we have the rest of our lives to gaze dreamily into each other’s eyes in private, right?).
My wedding dress is reasonably comfortable, by which I mean it probably won’t have killed me by the end of the night. I plan to wear it throughout the reception, but for the after-party? Hells nah. I will want that sucker OFF by then. So, now I have become enamored of the idea of having an after-party dress. This after-party dress.
Mrs. Earrings, Fresno, CA/ Nelson, New ZealandAge and Occupation: 20, Student, Wannabe Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 19, Photography StudentEngagement Date: February 14, 2010Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Gardens of the WorldAbout Me: I'm a girl from down under who grew up in Indonesia and I'm marrying a California boy. I'm addicted to all things sweet, have never met a chocolate silk pie than can get the better of me, and have dreams of one day being a fulltime novelist. I go weak in the knees for lace, tea cups, and a beautifully crafted sentence. When I get excited about something (whether it is historical linguistics or the Beatles) I tend to go overboard in research, and planning this wedding is no different. Mr. Earrings is my high school sweetheart, my best friend, and somehow we combine all our quirks into one big happy mess.
Choosing the desserts for our reception was something both Mr E and I looked forward to with anticipation. You might already know that we will be serving cupcakes as part of our “English Tea and Cupcakes” hour directly after the ceremony and before dinner. For dessert after dinner we figure people will have had enough of cupcakes and/or cake so we want to have something a little different.
We thought of various options; some of our favourites including getting the local ice cream truck to pay a visit or serving gelato in pretty little cups. But in the end, we both couldn’t resist the call of cheesecake.
Mrs. Locket, Ithaca, NYAge and Occupation: 25, Research TechnicianFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, former Banker hoping to become an Officer of the LawEngagement Date: June 15, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heron Hill WineryAbout Me: I am a little bit of everything all rolled into one: A girly gal with rough edges---I love to get dolled up just as much as I enjoy throwing on some sneaks to toss a ball with Mr. Locket. My love for crafting and creating is quite apparent and I've been referred to as a Wonder Woman/Martha Stewart/Stepford Wife hybrid (yup, I'll take that as a compliment). I adore sewing, photography, sculpture, good eats (mmm tapas), baking, snugging and oh, pretty much everything in between (there's not much I dislike). I am super excited to be planning our vineyard wedding and couldn't be happier to be marrying Mr. Locket. We are a quirky, fun-loving couple residing in our college town with our two pups Maple and Molly. We love to go on hikes, visit our local dog park and to bask in the beauty of many of the local falls and gorges. We are an indecisive pair, but together we somehow manage to make up our minds (it's the easy stuff that's tricky).
HONEYMOON! How I can’t wait for you to get here! Last week we made the final payment on our honeymoon package, and I couldn’t be more excited! In less than 40 days we will be newlyweds, chillaxing on the beaches of the Riviera Maya in Mexico and sipping yummy frozen drinks. As you can imagine, with all the wedding planning stress and family drama, this honeymoon is going to be much needed (as will those drinks!).
Keep on loading your inspirational wedding pics to the gallery to see them featured here on the blog! Remember, your images must be under 1MB in size, or they won’t load.
Mrs. Argyle, St. LouisAge and Occupation: 24, Project CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, PilotEngagement Date: February 15, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Jewel Box in Forest Park and Windows on WashingtonAbout Me: I'm a true Midwestern girl (born and raised), lover of red wine, reality TV and the entire J.Crew catalog. I love to dance regardless of who is watching, and enjoy a good laugh with my girls. I have a soft spot in my heart for planet Earth, my two dogs and my fiance. Fall is my favorite season (which is why we are marrying in September), but I love a warm summer day and the Colorado mountains in the winter. We are planning a modern soiree downtown, with lots of bold colors, and fun, eco-friendly elements.
So, I love our invites. They were a serious labor of love considering I redesigned them so. many. freaking. times. And, I love how each piece in the suite has its own little unique piece.
And, now that you’ve seen all of the pieces (rehearsal dinner invite, the main invite, the map / directions card and the RSVP postcard) individually, how did it all come together?. Quite perfectly, if I don’t say so myself (minus the poor photography on my part):
And, are you wondering what we did with those strips and circles? We made belly bands that coordinate with our invite design, of course. Read more…
Mrs. Barrettes, Tumon, Guam/Napa, CAAge and Occupation: 29, DancerFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Licensed Building ContractorEngagement Date: November 16, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: V. Sattui WineryAbout Me: I'm an East Coast girl, living on a tiny little island in the Pacific, twirling, leaping, and shimmy-ing my way through life, and now, wedding planning! I'm equal parts nerdy and cool... okay, mostly nerdy. I love satin bows, red lipstick, black & white graphic anything, the shine of sequins and the sound of a champagne "pop". My favorite books are The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James, and Tender is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I can also conjure a pretty good Patronus Charm. I started my appreciation for good red wine while traveling on the high seas, and it's only fitting that my passion for wine drinking led me to my Napa-bred honey. We bonded over bottles of Cabernet on my oceanfront porch and haven't looked back since. We're sealing the deal at a winery in the Napa Valley on a 'perfect ten' of a day!
Baby Barrettes is a really cool dude. He loves the beach and is always the first one in the water. He has more human friends than dog friends, and we’re really excited to introduce him to all of his furry relatives in the USA. His favorite treats are grapes, although he will totally eat broccoli. We let him grow out his hair as long as he wanted, but now with the wedding coming up we have been dog-scaping him.
Mrs. Glasses, Tokyo/Los Angeles, CAAge and Occupation: 24, English teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, English teacherEngagement Date: September 2008Wedding Date: October 2010 Venue: Parents' backyardAbout Me: I’m an expat living in Tokyo. I’ve been in Japan for almost three years now, where I met my fantastic English fiance. It’s time to leave Japan, so we are planning a fun, intimate, backyard ceremony back home in the suburbs of L.A. in October. Our wedding will be a mix of my love for food, beer, my Japanese culture, and Mr. G’s Englishness. We are on a tiny budget and DIYing almost everything!
I love October. In California, the weather is not too hot, not too cold. October has Halloween, and it’s just before the madness of November and December, and it has World Series baseball! This October is extra special because we are celebrating our marriage—I get to dress up as a bride!
But I really think us October brides get the short end of the pretty-flower stick. We get the oranges, browns, and sharper looking flowers like the dahlia and chrysanthemum. Of course, we also have the normal flowers available all year round, like roses, carnations, and orchids.
What I really want, though, I can’t have. I was Skyping with my mom, the florist, about flowers:
Me: “What about ranunculas?”
Mom: “NO RANUNCULAS!”
Me: “Peonies?”
Mom: “NO! NO PEONIES IN OCTOBER!”
Me: “… anemones?”
Mom: “DEKINAYO! DAME!“
Dame means YOU CAN’T DO THAT in Japanese, just in case you didn’t see where that was going. Read more…
Mrs. Starfish, Boston/NewportAge and Occupation: 25, Operations AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, SalesEngagement Date: October 8, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: The Atlantic Beach ClubAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.
The Starfishes love saving. Over the course of our wedding, we’ve looked for ways to save on everything. I don’t like to bargain with people or ask for discounts, so I looked for other ways to find savings. I found ways to save on almost all of our DIY projects, wedding attire, wedding bands, thank you gifts, favors, OOT bag supplies, bathroom basket supplies, decor, videography… pretty much all the miscellaneous items that go into planning a wedding.
Mrs. Plaid, AustinAge and Occupation: 26, Pastry ChefFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Cabinetry CarpenterEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Kindred Oaks, GeorgetownAbout Me: I am a Jersey girl born and raised but have since migrated to Texas and embraced its twang and Tex-Mex. I could probably eat chips and queso every day but instead I eat popcorn. I use the word “awesome” way too much but I just can’t seem to stop myself. I am addicted to all things DIY and am planning what I call a Texas-Chic wedding. I love snuggling with my two adorable dogs and of course, my adorable fiance. I can’t wait 'til I can call him my husband some day! October 2010, here we come!
After deciding that I really wanted to bring out the “Texas” in our wedding, I started searching for ways to do that. I haven’t showed you our one favor that is also doubling as an escort card yet, but I’m going to show you our other favor that I’ve been working on that just screams TEXAS!
I stumbled upon this gem on Martha Stewart Weddings a few months back and bookmarked it just in case I could somehow work it into our wedding. After deciding on the first favor, I thought it’d be nice to give our guests a little something extra.
Wildflowers are a huge part of Texas, especially the Austin area, as Ladybird Johnson started a huge initiative to allow wildflowers to grow along all the highways around town. Check out more about this here.
Mrs. Swan, New York CityAge and Occupation: 31, Legislative RepresentativeFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Finance GuyEngagement Date: August 9, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: Battery GardensAbout Me: I am an un-crafty but resourceful, Caribbean-born but New York-raised woman who's been known to analyze "Dancing with the Stars" and “So You Think You Can Dance”, buy stinky cheese, and use way too many parentheses. I keep lists for fun, am constantly daydreaming of my next international travel adventure (four continents down, three to go), debating sports (let’s Got Mets/Giants!) and dancing around my apartment to stay sane. I am excited to share our wedding planning journey as I hope to plan a streamlined, personal, and fun wedding with the greatest life partner I could ever imagine, Mr. Swan.
One of my favorite songs that say goodbye. This was the first CD that I ever bought, by the way!! If you’re not familiar with Boyz II Men, you’re missing out on some great late ’80s/early ’90s R&B.
I can’t believe that I am writing this, but this will in fact be my last Weddingbee post ever. I remember way back when when I started to read WB: Mrs. Penguin was still engaged; there were barely any discussion boards; and even Mr. Bee would occasionally write a post. That was way back in the days of late 2007 (gulp!) months before I got engaged.
Mrs. Thimble, NYC/PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 26, Actress & Costume Designer (+ day job)Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Lawyer & Techie WizEngagement Date: August 22, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: The Pearl S. Buck HouseAbout Me: I’m an easily inspired over-thinker delighted with the process of designing, building, directing and {dare I say} co-starring in the early-autumn affair I’ve been dreaming up. I’m a sucker for trendied-up comfort foods and old family anecdotes; I have an affinity for adjectives, alliteration, eyelet and earl grey; and I live for quality time with family and friends. I never guessed I’d marry my “high school sweetheart", but when it turned out to be my funny, techie, loyal Mr. Thimble I was committed for life. We’re both mid-career transition and ready to move back to small-townish TBD, PA in a pre-wedding flurry of all-good life changes.
After our photo shoot at our high school, we took a short drive into a State park adjacent to our alma mater for some rugged woodsy shots. This is where Mr. Thimble and I went the first time we hung out one on one. (Err, well, that was actually a drive out to King of Prussia Mall so he could buy a 1st generation iPod… but this is more romantic). Again, I’ll let the pictures do the talking:
To be eligible to win a Avery/Zazzle Wedding Organizer, review your favorite wedding vendors in the Weddingbee Vendors section and submit them to us here to be featured on the blog! Check out this post for more info on our great weekly prizes!
When I was planning my wedding, it was really hard for me to find reviews or pictures of weddings at The Rittenhouse. I went with my gut and chose this hotel for my cocktail hour, 4 hour dinner/dance as well as the primary hotel for our OOT guests to stay.
Mrs. Dolphin, Gainesville, FLAge and Occupation: 24, Graduate Architecture StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Interactive Interface DeveloperEngagement Date: February 14, 2008Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Plantation Bay Country ClubAbout Me: I’m currently a Graduate Student at the University of Florida studying Architecture. I enjoy playing Scrabble with my Fiance, rooting for the Florida Gators, making any drink that involves a blender, cleaning (yes... I’m crazy), design... GOOD design that is, the new Pepsi with natural sugar, taking pictures, discovering new places in the U.S., and obsessing over doing (and designing) everything myself for our upcoming wedding!
I’ve mentioned before how much I love pictures of iPhones in wedding pictures, and since Mr. Dolphin and I are avid iPhone users, we couldn’t be apart from our little iPhones on our wedding day, either.
So now, I present to you our coveted iPhone wedding photo:
Mrs. Lobster, BrooklynAge and Occupation: 29, Finance GirlFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Finance BoyEngagement Date: July 25, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Stage 6 Steiner StudiosAbout Me: I'm a New York-born, Virginia-bred girl who's found her way back to the big city. Mr. Lobster and I met in grad school and have been together ever since. I'm clueless about DIY but am an avid online shopper and love all things polka dots, stripes, and ruffles! When I'm not making wedding lists, you can find me looking for snacks, watching Gilmore Girls, or hanging out with Mr. Lobster and our new puppy Buddy! We are planning a fancy-pantsy Brooklyn wedding for a hot New York summer night which is sure to be a misadventure in the making.
By now, I had no more energy to be creative and do something new for the table numbers. During one of my marathon wedding internet searches, I found a template for table numbers on this blog. It is actually a whole suite of wedding details. Look at how cute the thank you favor tags are!
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
